Archive for July, 2012

Almost a year has gone by since MS Odense made their debut in The Golden League. The second Golden League game for MS Odense was played on August 17th 2011. The game was played The Falcons Nest and yes! the opponent was Horus Falcons. This Wednesday the two squad will collide once more, but this time the game will be played at MS Park in Odense. MSO blog caught up with MS Odense coach Yannis Kotakis to talk about the past and present of both the visitors from Prague and his own team.

Q: It has almost been a year since the two teams collided for the first time. What are your memories about it?

A: It was a special game for us. It was the early days of The Golden League and we have played many great games in that competition since then. Looking back at that particular game, we had a strong and very talented team back then. Players like Abu-Aziz, Bogh, Byskov, Skytte, Wiesenthal had a huge impact on the uprising of MS Odense in the last 3-4 seasons and is now playing for other clubs – Other players in that game who has another position in our club today is MSO-TV reporter Toke Lundager and our Agent Peter Ivarsson. A lot has happened since then, but it is a pleasure looking back at that encounter. We were the favorites but they kick our ass and the 3-0 defeat was a surprise for me, but looking back our midfield wasn’t strong enough and the game against started a mission to get even better. We went haunting for new players and later on we found Paolo Baggio and the rest is history.

Q: Your thoughts on Falcons back then and now?

A: They have always had a good squad, but it took some time for them to find them self on the field. Grønholdt, Dommergaard and Llosa has grown big and strong and they are top players in my mind today. They have also managed to find new talents to follow the ones mentioned and it is difficult to talk about Falcons today without mentioning The Ace. Hehe they have had some trouble keeping his mouth shoot, but he is one of the great ones even though his lack of skills. You gotta love that kid.

Q: How would you compare your team back that against the one you have today?

A: I can’t cause it is two very different squads. One year back it was a very experienced team with a few good talents and the legendary Sam M. Abu-Aziz, Wiesenthal and Papon was our weapons in front. Today we have an even better attack, some Golden League legends and many young players on the team. At this time we have a lack of strengths on most parts of the field – One year ago it was only an inexperienced midfield to worry about. Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of my boys and like where we are heading with this team, but last year we were the favorites going into a game against Falcons and we are far from that today.

Q: So you are saying that Falcons will take the win easily?

A: Not at all. We will not only fight but have a plan on how to get some points this week. MS Odense has often surprised their opponents with getting a great result and these last few weeks we have done surprisingly well in our league games. The team is improving every week and we can make a lot of troubles on standard situations. That is our main weapon at this time and I can’t see why we shouldn’t be able to put some pressure on Falcons this week too.

Q: EC10 use to be the man behind those standard situations. Will he be that against Falcons too and is he the key to victory?

A: Yes Edi will play this game too. He is very important to our team with his perfect free kicks and corner kicks, but he has also scored 5 goals so far this season and is our team captain. We have other players who that can make it a hard day of work for Falcons though – Psycho and Antonio has done well lately and also Müller, Bom and Estoles has shown why we chose to bet on them as the future stars on MS Park. Last but not least I have to mention Paolo – Last week he scored in The Golden League and played 2 great matches against Vejle Razorbacks and Trinidad & Tobago U20. He celebrated his 20th birthday in the weekend and has already played 54 games for us, scored once and also played 22 games for Scotland U20. He truly is a Goldenboy and you can’t talk about MS Odense without talking about Paolo.

Q: MS Odense has been active on transfers lately. Jelko Indihar is gone and Hansen is already leaving the club after only half a season. What’s your comment on that?

A: Well we found a better striker to replace Jelko and even though Heinrich probably won’t stay here for many seasons, we felt the need to try something new up front. Hansen will be replaced later this week, when Arne Dolleris signs a new contract with the club. Months ago we stated that we will give our U18 players a chance to be a part of the new young and improved MS Odense, alongside a few talents from around the world. Dolleris is one of our finest talents in many seasons and even though his lack of a specialty, he will get a chance to prove himself throughout the season. A handful of the young boys has done great this season and it tells us that they are ready to take the responsibility needed to take the club in the right direction with out the ‘elder’ guys on the team. One season from now Psycho will be the player with the highest age in our squad, so you better get use to see some of our players on the transfer list in the next 16-20 weeks.

A: Now let’s turn our attention on this weeks Golden League game once more. What are your predictions for the game?

Q: Both teams will have to fight to get some points out of the game. We are the underdogs but it suits us very well. I can’t and won’t predict a score for the game but it is very unlikely that any of the goalkeepers will get a clean sheet this week. It will be a good game with many chances and 22 guys fighting for the victory – That I can promise you, cause I can’t imagine that Falcons comes here to lose. Can you?

A: No I can’t! Last question – Who should we look out for on MS Park on Wednesday?

Q: Ace and Dommergaard will be the two most brightest stars from the Falcons. We have some too though and scouts should take a good look at Estoles, Antonio, EC10 and Psycho, thereafter they know what kind of talents they should be selling to other club. They ain’t full grown top players yet, but soon they will be. I simply can’t wait to show what this team looks like at the start of season 51.

It has been a tough season for MS Odense so far, but the last 3 games has been anything else than just another defeat. Last weeks Golden League win against FC X-Team at MS Park might be the turning point for the Baggio and company. Last weeks win was followed by a very nice draw against KAP64 in Denmark’s V.245 on Sunday.

The game against KAP64 got B-52 his 9th scoring of the season, but maybe more important the fans of MS Odense saw GL legend Henri Heikkinen score his first goal for the club and know he can’t stop – Earlier today Heikkinen scored another one when he sent MS Odense in front in the re-match against FC X-Team. MS Odense won the by 2 to 1 and is now 2 – 0 in games against the Romanian’s.

Now victories is always sweet, but the one today was one of the sweetest ever…. Why? Because of the 2nd goal of the game. A goal scored by MS Odense number one… Paolo ‘Goldenboy’ Baggio! The soon to be 20 years old Baggio has shown his talent as a goalkeeper many times before, but today he also proved that he can score if needed. 10 minutes after the break, MS Odense got a counter attack but was stopped in an illegal way. The following free kick from EC10 was sent into the penalty area, wherw a MSO player headed the ball out of the area again and luckily Baggio was ready to hit a first timer and sent the ball past X-Team goalkeeper Guamanga and into the net.

The record book of Paolo Baggio’s achievements is getting bigger and bigger and when he celebrates his 20th birthday this coming weekend, the records includes 3 HTUA Awards, 1 MS Award, 53 games for MS Odense, 21 games for Scotland U20 and now also 1 golden league goal!

Friday night the youngsters from Odense Academy Center got a rare win – A last minute strike from 15 years old striker Iver Rank ended an exiting game against Bellevue Battery at Pockmark Road.

With 12 defeats in the last 15 games, wins don’t come easy for the young boys at Odense Academy Center, so when it occurs the taste is very sweet. In a hard fought battle against Australian Bellevue Battery, MS Odense U18 won by 3-2 in a game that became very equal after a nasty injury to Bellevue Battery’s goalkeeper Bronx Turagabea. With Bronx out of action it was a game between two teams without goalkeepers and it has a huge effect on the scoreline after the break.

Bellevue’s Ron Tai was a constant threat and was the man behind both goals from the home team, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Midway through the second half, Odense was up by one, with goals from wing back Herbert Norre and playmaker Ralf Melgaard. The equalizer by Ron Tai after 85 minutes looked like the decider, but both teams wanted more! Pat O’Donnell had the chance to give his team the victory in the last minute ,but he failed to get the ball into the net. That was the start of the end for Bellevue Battery – An attack on the right flank gave Iver Rank the last chance of the game. The young striker was successful in his attempt and gave MS Odense U18 a surprise win.

Coach Lauridsen was a happy man after the match. “I’m proud of the work effort from my boys today and finally we had some luck too. We have been a bit unlucky this season, but it seems like we are starting to get to the point, where we want to be. If we find a goalkeeper, we won’t be a walkover anymore”. The coach also stated that it is important to stay focused on next weeks re-match at Odense Academy Center. “We might need some luck next week too, but if we can get our first back to back win in ages. That would be something wouldn’t it”.